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My dad sent me this photo. I’m not sure where he got it from, but I thought I’d share it, because, isn’t Caracas just breath taking? I miss home. I was last there in 2010, the summer before I moved to Chicago. It seems like a whole other life now…

Missing home and thank you

I got an email this morning from my mom with a link to a video. My mom is constantly sending me links to videos, articles, and the sort about Venezuelan news. This one was a group of reporters and news people from Globovision, singing a song to Venezuela. At the end, one of them says “and here we continue, and we will never leave, because our commitment is with Venezuela”. I teared up a bit. Because of all the injustice occurring in Venezuela, it’s not hard for me to tear up. But something that always hits home for me, is to be reminded that I left, that I’m not there fighting the fight. And because my parents retired, sold their house, and now live in Miami, I don’t really have a home to go back to and visit. I haven’t been back to Caracas since July 2010.

As we were driving out of a parking garage this weekend, I got the sense I was exiting el Sambil, and it hit me, I miss Caracas. I miss the people, the city, the weather, el Avila, the food, just being there. It’s a little unsettling not knowing when and if I will go back. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t really have anywhere to stay, and since my immediate family is here, I rather spend my time and money visiting them in New York or Miami.

I’ve lived abroad plenty of times before. I’ve missed my country when I was away and missed New York, when I was back in Caracas. But since there is no return date this time, the longing and missing feels a little more permanent. And the guilt of not being there to help, to fight, to make things better, really stings sometimes.

As we celebrated Memorial Day this weekend, and we thought about those who fought and still are fighting for this country (agree you with the fight or not), I think about how I left and how a part of me feels like I let my country down, and now I live in a country in which I will always be a foreigner, an outsider, not because I can’t blend in, but because it just doesn’t feel like home.

Happy Memorial Day. And thank you to all of you who fight the fight, who stand up for your country, who don’t leave, and who make it possible for someone like me to leave my country and live here safely.

No hay excusa que valga…

Vota!

New York!

I’m off to NYC today. I am mainly going this weekend because I am still registered in the Venezuela Consulate in NY to vote, and as some of you may know this coming Sunday are the Venezuelan Presidential elections.

I was not about to stay put and not vote while this could be our only last democratic chance to get rid of Chavez. You all know he is not particularly a friend of mine. So off I go, home, as I like to call NY, to vote, see friends, spend time with family and roam the city that speaks to my soul. Hopefully I’ll have photos and stories to share on my ay back.

Be good, have fun and if you are Venezuelan, VOTE!

Les recuerda a algo?

Todo lo que una persona recibe sin haber trabajado para obtenerlo, otra persona deberá haber trabajado para ello, pero sin recibirlo..
El gobierno no puede entregar nada a alguien, si antes no se lo ha quitado a alguna otra persona.
Cuando la mitad de las personas llegan a la conclusión de que ellas no tienen que trabajar porque la otra mitad está obligada a hacerse cargo de ellas, y cuando esta otra mitad se convence de que no vale la pena trabajar porque alguien les quitará lo que han logrado con su esfuerzo,  eso… mi querido amigo…

…es el fin de cualquier Nación.
“No se puede multiplicar la riqueza dividiéndola”.
Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

University

Nilsa posted this the other day and I thought it would be fun to answer it too. First, because it would give you guys an insight into what my life used to be, but mainly because since my experience at university in Venezuela is so different from that which people go through in the US, I thought you might find it interesting. Keep in mind though, I am by no means portraying here the average Latin American college experience. This was my experience, very personal and typical of a very particular Venezuelan population, which is not the majority. So don’t go making any generalizations about Venezuelans based on my experience, ok? Ok then, here goes.

1. Where did you go to college?

We don’t really have colleges in Venezuela. We have either big well known universities or smaller technical institutes. There are now some newer small universities, but they weren’t in existence when I was applying. I went to Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela. One of the best private universities in the country/continent, especially for business and education.

2. What did you study?
Early Childhood Education, with an emphasis in educational business administration. We don’t have majors and minors, in fact when you apply to a university, you need to know what degree you want to pursue. Usually, you select 3 different options and they’ll admit you to one of them based on your grades and admission test results. Some universities have a first year of common course everyone needs to take and then you go into your chosen field’s courses for the remaining 4 years.

3. Was college really all that it was cracked up to be?

Not really. I wanted to go to UCV, the oldest public university in the country, the place my parents went to, but there were political issues at the time and my parents didn’t want me to go through that or be at risk in any way, so UCV was not an option for me. By going to a private university I had a very secluded experience, didn’t seem to really get the “universality” of going to a university.

4. How far were you from home?

I lived at home, with my parents, as most students do in Caracas. Only people coming from other states to study in Caracas (the capital and the city with the best schools) live in student rented rooms in homes close to their chosen university, or rent out apartments. Universities in Venezuela don’t have any kind of housing available for neither students or faculty. My home was 5 minutes from the university.

5. Did you have the same roommates all four years?

University is 5 years in Venezuela, but no roommates. My first experience with flatmates was in graduate school, the first time I went to Columbia University in NYC (the second time was to get my doctorate and I lived by myself). I lived in International House a graduate student housing organization, which is about 4 blocks from Teachers College. I lived in a 4 bedroom apartment then and had a rotation of 9 different flatmates during the 3 years I was there, that’s not counting 2 new summer flatmates I had the only summer I stayed in NY.

6. Where did you order food from at 2AM?

I don’t think I ever ordered anything else than pizza in Venezuela. Back then delivery wasn’t as common there.

7. Did you date in college or were you tied down?

I had formal, long term relationships in college. Two of them. I was with my high-school boyfriend for a few years during college and then got into a 5 year relationship right after that. This quickly turned into a long distance relationship after the 2nd year together, not fun.

8. Funniest drunk college moment?

I wasn’t much of a drinker in college. Didn’t acquire the taste for it until later in life. I did organize a few parties as part of the student senate and was main part of them, but mainly had fun drunk free. Graduate school though, was a whole different story… along the lines of Nilsa’s “if you don’t remember it, it didn’t happen” bit.

9. Did you make it to class on time?
Almost never, especially not to the first class of the day. I lived 5 minutes from campus and drove there, but always underestimated the time it would take me to park. They used to tease me because living so close I was usually late. Professors didn’t seem to mind though, I think it was because I was a bit of nerd and ended up graduating Cum Laude with a 4.98/5 GPA in spite of being frequently tardy.

10. What was your favorite class in college?

Childhood development, which is the course I am teaching this quarter at DePaul, score! 🙂

If you feel like it, share your college experience and let me know in the comments where you posted it so I can go read your background. Oh, and yahookitie for not being students any more! 😉

Venezuela

I arrived in NYC from Ireland and was there for a day and then off to Venezuela. I had planned on going to Venezuela sometime during the summer to sort out my things. You see, my parents are moving, selling their house, most of their belongings, packing their bags and off to Florida. I still have quite a few things there, so I needed to throw some stuff out, see what I wanted to keep and what I could give away. Not too fun.

It was a bitter-sweet trip. I’m always happy to go “home”, see my peeps, hang out in the Caribbean weather and eat my favorite foods. But this time, along with all that was saying goodbye to the life I know there, my parents’ home, my dog and the generally status quo as it has been for quite some years now. Not easy, and I truly think it hasn’t quite sinked in yet either.

But the first thing on the list was a celebration. I finished my doctorate and graduated, and my mom defended her dissertation and should be graduating soon too. So there was a party to be had, and friends and family to be invited.

The weekend I spent there was a long weekend, celebrating Venezuela’s independence day, which falls on the 5th of July. So, of course we went to the beach, which is where most long weekends are spent by Venezuelans. This was also a bitter-sweet trip, because as you can imagine, my dad is selling his boat too (anyone interested please contact me), so this was the last hoorah… I know for a fact the goodbye hasn’t quite sinked in, it will hit me one day, hopefully not in an awkward social situation like a party or at work, but it will hit me, and when it does, I’ll cry, which I haven’t done yet.

But anyhow, we were in Puerto La Cruz for a few days, which were spent mainly in the beaches of Mochima. We went to our all time favorite Playa El Guaro and to a new discovery called Cachicamo. Both places worth checking out.

El Guaro was great. The water’s temperature is always pleasant in the Caribbean. The sun wasn’t as strong, but still present and willing to give you a good sunburn if you weren’t careful and used lots of sunscreen. But the worst experience this day was me getting stung by a jelly fish, because what’s a goodbye without a good sting? Yeah, this wasn’t pleasant at all, it hurt like hell and the scar and itch lasted a bit over a week.

But the rest of the time was just great. You really can’t beat water this color.

Great trip, overall. I’m still in denial that trips like these are probably over and done for me… but hey, better things are to come. Right? Yeah, I’m keeping positive and hopeful. Change is for the better. For the better and only the better, I tell you 🙂

The last days in Venezuela were spent in Caracas. I tried to contact and see friends and then had to cancel because I seemed to have caught something and spent one of the 2 remaining days I had in bed with a fever and then the following day with cramps and stomach problems. Fortunately by the time I left and had to get on a plane again I only had a cough and a runny nose, but the major part was over, or so I thought.

sH 30-A

Leo Zelig y Javier Perez-Karam estrenan su película subHysteria en Caracas el 30 de Abril. Vayan a verla y cuenéntenme que tal!

Arepas for lunch

Nancy, Radhika and I had wanted to go for lunch to Caracas Arepa Bar for quite some time now. We finally set a date and went this Friday.

We all had papelón con limón for a drink. It was cold, light and refreshing.

The decoration there is very picturesque.

They even have a Venezuelan’s worst presidents wall:
Carlos Andrés Pérez, Luis Herrera and, of course, Hugo Rafael Chávez.

For appetizers we had platanitos fritos con queso.

And tequeños. Y can’t go there and not have tequeños.

We were happy.

Very happy.

And then we had arepas. Both Nancy and Radhika had a Reina Pepiada.

And I had a pelúa (shredded beef and cheese).

Nancy said now she wanted to go to Venezuela to have more Venezuelan food. I said, me too Nancy, me too!

Last Week in Venezuela

My last week was packed. I had to cram in everything I needed to do before I left and everything I still wanted do before leaving, not an easy task. It was the last week of the summer semester so you can image the amount of grading that had to be done in order to give the students their final grades and sign them off for their vacation time, before the Fall semester began (academic calendar in Venezuela is slightly different than the US).

Once all the grading was done and the grades were reviewed, discussed and submitted, I was free to do fun stuff. I finally meet up with my friend Nico on Tuesday for lunch. We went up to El Avila and had the typical sanduche de pernil (pork sandwich) and juguito de durazno (apricot home made juice). We had a great time catching up and trying to sort all kinds of issues between men and women. I love Nick, he seems to never change and is capable of always making me laugh. Absolutely love him.

On Wednesday, I went over to visit Katy again. I had left a picture she had given me at her place and I went to pick it up, only to stay for a couple of hours to visit and chit-chat. Alejandro Andrés, Katy’s toddler is such a dream kid, so of course we played a bit too.

On Thursday, I went for lunch to El Brasero del Marques with my friend Tom, who is now engaged!!! Did I mention that? You do remember Tom, right? He’s been to visit me in NYC a couple of times. Well, you can imagine the amount of stories we had to share, and all the plans and planning we talked about. Their date is the 11th of December, which is also my nephew Nick’s birthday. I really hope I can make it, it would be a real treat to be able to attend.

Friday was errand day as usual. Mani and waxing were in order before my trip back, and buying last minute Venezuelan treats to take back to Liz and the kids. Oh how they love their Venezuelan treats. This was also the day of the international manifestation against Chavez, which I unfortunately, could not attend. My mom had left with the car early that morning and the concentration was taking place at noon, my mom showed up around 1ish, so I was left, as they would say in Venezuela “vestida y alborotada“.

Saturday was my last day and I packed most of the morning, and when I say packed I mean really packed. I was bringing two big suitcases, filled to the rims, a carry-on and and a had bag. My dad who was flying to NY that same day, was bringing with him the cuatro and another bag with more of my stuff. Anyone would think I was moving or something, crazy.

Saturday afternoon we had programed a get-together at my parents so that I could say goodbye to everyone at once.It was very nice seeing all my family again for the last time before I parted, but it was a tad bittersweet. I really did not want to go and everyone seemed to think I should stay too, which didn’t make my departure any easier.

My friend Flor, from college, came over. We hadn’t managed to get together so it was now or never, at least for this trip. We talked nonstop, it was great to catchup, but we realized we need to do this more often, the stories accumulate and then it’s impossible to cram it all in in one sitting. I miss my friends, especially these good, long lasting friends, with whom I have so much history. Why can’t we all be in the same place, or at last closer so that we don’t miss out so much of each others lives?

I had a great time in Venezuela. I fell in love all over again with Caracas, which still remains one of my favorite cities (along with NY, London and Paris) and it’s people. Even though Chávez is still there and we still have a long way to go in regards to dealing with poverty, delinquency, insecurity and the sort, you just can’t beat the awesome weather year round and the kindness and warmth of it’s people. I will miss you Caracas… I always seem to.